A
mock customs post set up at Ravensdale, Co Louth by anti-Brexit
campaigners.Niall Carson/PA Wire/PA
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Theresa May's government pledges to put the
Northern Irish peace process at the heart of Brexit talks in a
position paper.

Challenges the EU to match its commitment to upholding
the Good Friday peace agreement and Common Travel
Area.

Ireland's largest business group slams the paper as
"unhelpful" and lacking in detail.

LONDON — The UK government has pledged to put the Northern Irish
peace process at the heart of Brexit talks and prevent the return
of a hard border between the UK and Ireland, in a position paper
published on Wednesday.

In the paper, which can be read
here, the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) vows to
protect the rights of UK and Irish citizens and prevent the
return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic
of Ireland after Britain leaves the customs union in March 2019.

Theresa May's government challenges the EU to appreciate the
"unique circumstances" of Northern Ireland and match its
commitment to upholding both the Good Friday peace agreement and
Common Travel Area (CTA) — the latter being an open borders area
comprising the UK and Northern Ireland which allows citizens to
move freely within it.

In a statement accompanying the paper, Brexit Secretary David
Davis stresses the importance of retaining a "seamless" border
between the UK and Ireland and says the British side is "looking
forward" to the EU's response.

"The UK and Ireland have been clear all along that we need to
prioritise protecting the Belfast Agreement in these
negotiations, and ensure the land border is as seamless as
possible for people and businesses, " Davis says.

"The proposals we outline in this paper do exactly that, and
we’re looking forward to seeing the EU’s position paper on the
Northern Ireland border.

"In committing to keep the Common Travel Area, which has existed
for nearly a century, we're making sure UK and Irish citizens
will continue to be able to travel, live, work and study across
both countries."

The paper will outline key negotiating goals the UK and EU should
aim to achieve in Brexit talks. They are:

Support for the Good Friday peace deal should be written into
the withdrawal agreement to reflect a commitment on all sides to
the Irish peace process.

The withdrawal agreement should recognise that the people of
Northern Ireland will continue to have — as set out in the Good
Friday deal — a right to both British and Irish citizenship. Any
people living in Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens will
continue to benefit from the EU citizenship rights.

The withdrawal agreement should also recognise the continued
status of the CTA and associated rights. This will mean no
passport controls for UK and Irish citizens travelling within the
CTA and no question of new immigration checks operating between
Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Continued funding for reconciliation and peace projects in
border areas.

The government's proposals include granting people who were born
in Northern Ireland who hold Irish citizenship the right to
maintain their Irish citizenship and the rights that flow from
that as an EU citizen. This, in practice, would mean Northern
Irish people with Irish citizenships could continue to enjoy
rights reserved for EU citizens, like the right to move freely
across the 28-nation bloc.

This paper is one of many the UK government is set to release
over the next few weeks as it looks to speed up the process in
Brexit talks. On Tuesday, DExEU published a
paper outlining its desire for a "new" and "frictionless" customs
union deal following a transitional customs arrangement.

What is the Northern Irish border dilemma?

Nothern Ireland is the only part of the UK which will share a
land border with an EU member state after Brexit as the Republic
of Ireland will remain part of Europe after Britain leaves. May
has confirmed Britain will leave the customs union in March 2019,
consequently putting the invisible border between Ireland and
Northern Ireland at risk.

The return of a hard border would likely unleash
chaos. A Lords report
published in December said there is €60 billion
(approximately £55 billion) in trade between the UK and Ireland
each year, and an
estimated 30,000 people cross the Irish border every day.
There are also real concerns that leaving the customs union could
threaten peace in Northern Ireland as the free movement across
the border was integral to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

The chief executive of Ireland's biggest business group, Chambers
Ireland, told the
HuffPost the British government's plans for Ireland are
"unhelpful" and lack sufficient detail to tackle the complexities
of the problem.

Chambers Ireland CEO Ian Talbot, who is likely to have had
advanced copy of the position paper, said: "The UK’s
unwillingness to engage in the very real practical, political and
geographical complexities of what will be a new land border
between the EU and the UK is unhelpful and does not bode well for
the next round of Brexit negotiations.

"Further, technology is not a panacea to the issue of
cross-border trade. While technological solutions may be helpful,
they are one part of what will be a series of complex
arrangements. Suggesting anything otherwise is unrealistic.

"We do not fully understand how the UK’s suggestion that they
plan to have an open border with the EU ties into the immigration
concerns they have expressed. This approach could also impact on
Ireland’s immigration policy and obligations.

"Our Chamber members along the border have also highlighted
several concerns businesses have about traceability and
regulation, delays in travelling cross border for day to day
business, education and social needs."

A spokesperson for the Irish government welcomed the position
paper as "timely and helpful" but warned: "Protecting the peace
process is crucial and it must not become a bargaining chip in
the negotiations."

Labour MP Conor McGinn, who grew up in Northern Ireland, accused
Theresa May's government of "vagueness and posturing." "These
proposals on a light touch border are lighter still on detail,"
McGinn said.